Nintendo Switch game made permanently unplayable with no refund for $30 price tag

Nintendo Switch players are unable to seek refunds for a $30 game that has been made permanently unplayable.

A big issue facing gaming at the moment is one surrounding digital ownership, where players who have paid money for a brand new game risk having it taken away from them without compensation.

In the case of some games which lack a physical version, this becomes even more troubling as it means there is no legal way to purchase and play that game again.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite was delisted on Switch back in March, with the game’s servers on Nintendo Switch announced to be shut off in August.

This seems to have only affected the Switch version, as the other versions on PC, Xbox and PlayStation remain available for purchase and can still be played online.

The important distinction to make here is that the Switch version of Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a cloud-only release, meaning that it isn’t running natively from your hardware, but instead being streamed to your console via a server.

Even though the game features both singleplayer and multiplayer content, this shutoff will unfortunately leave fans without a way to play any of it on Nintendo Switch. And what’s worse, you won’t be able to get a refund for your purchase either, as it’s in the terms and conditions that access can be removed at any time.

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All cloud-only games on Nintendo Switch inevitably face shutdown

Cloud-only versions of big AAA games was a trend on the Nintendo Switch that many publishers opted to use. When a game was unable to run on the Switch’s weaker hardware, cloud streaming was seen as a middle-ground.

Games like Control, Resident Evil 7, and Hitman 3 were some of the titles that used this kind of release on Nintendo Switch.

Some players criticised this decision as it meant having a crystal clear network connection in order to play games without any issues, which was not always guaranteed with a console which has portable functions.

The idea was also criticised because it meant publishers could switch off access to the game at a later date once it stops being profitable, as is seen in the case of Aliens: Fireteam Elite.

In these cases, it’s not just a simple issue of delisting the game so new buyers can’t grab it, but access for everyone who bought it is also going away which makes things sting a lot worse.

This month, Apex Legends has also gone offline on the Nintendo Switch. Although EA's battle royale shooter from 2019 wasn't a cloud-only game, instead running natively on your Switch, it was online-only and free-to-play, so it stings a bit less.

Despite the free-to-play aspect, Apex Legends also featured in-game microtransactions such as new characters, skins, and other bonuses. All your in-game purchases are tied to your account though, which can be carried over to the Nintendo Switch 2 version.